A MEMORIAL TO THOSE WHO HAVE DIED

This is a memorial to those who have died or lost their life in Acadia National Park.  The Park Service has told us they do not keep such statistics so we have had to do a lot of research to come up with the information we have.  Gaps between dates does not mean no one died or lost their life in the park that year, it only means we have yet to locate any deaths for those years.  We never realize just how precious life is until someone we love loses theirs.

 April 2016 - Timothy Philpott, age 50, remains found on Parkman Mountain in Acadia National Park.

June 2016 - Mark Simon, age 68, fell from a bluff between Sand Beach and Thunder Hole while attempting to get a photo of a sunset.

July 2016 - Nathan Savage, age 39, died after swimming across Echo Lake.

Sept. 2016 - Abdulrahman M. Alamer, age 21, died after crashing his motorcycle on the Cadillac Summit road.

June 2015 -  Christian Linwood Emigh-Doyle, age 23, died after falling from Duck Brook Bridge along the Paradise Hill Road.

June 2012 - John Baer, age 85, found dead along Schooner Head Trail - the death was not suspicious.

July 2012 -  Shirley Ladd, age 22, died after a fall on the Precipice.

July 2012 - 38 year old man committed  suicide atop Cadillac Mountain.

Jan.  2011 - Duncan Rosborough, 52, was found dead in the park on the Paradise Hill loop trail around 6:45 a.m. Sunday,  after he failed to show up after doing some sking.  It appears he died of nature causes.

Aug. 2009 - Clio Dahyun Axilrod, age 7, was swept off rocks by waves during Hurricane Bill and drown.

Aug.  2000 - Man falls to his death on the Beehive.

Oct. 2008 - Corey O'Brian, age 23, died in the park after a fall from his skate board.

June 2007 - Faith M. Wise, age 56, drown in the area of Schoodic Point.

Aug.  2005 - Stephen Chan, age 22, drown while swimming in Echo Lake.

March 2004 - Benjamin A. Ellis, 21, found dead on Great Hill, an apparent suicide.

April 2004 - Stephen Kennedy, age 63, died after crashing his bike into a closed gate on the Otter cliffs road.

2004 - Emil Lin, in his 20's, drown at Otter Cliffs after attempting to retrieve his shoe from the ocean.

2004 - Joanne Demartini, age 50, dies after falling from a cliff near Sand Beach.

Oct. 2000 - Leslee R. Larson, age 50, murdered after husband pushed her from Otter cliff to collect insurance money.

1999 -  Robert Croteau, age 51, and his wife Margaret, age 63, posed for a photo by the water at  Schoodic Point when a wave swept them out to sea - both drown.

1997 - Michael Domino, age 37, died after falling from an icy ledge on the Precipice.

1997 - Shon Lewis died at the Hulls Cove Visitors Center parking lot after losing control of his snowmobile and crashing into tree's.

Aug. 1993 - a 17 year old boy died after falling from a cliff along the ocean behind Blackwoods Campground.

Oct. 1993 - Douglas Rose, age 20, a student at college of the atlantic, drown after becoming trapped by rising tide in Anemone cave.

1989 - Bartholomew Keohane, age 50, a Prist, died after falling from  Mansell Mountain.

June 1977 - Leslie Spellman, age 27, murdered while on vacation in Acadia National Park, her body was discovered in the tranquil Asticou Azalea Gardens in Northeast Harbor - her murder has still not been solved.

Oct. 1977 - Fritz Millett, age 22, died from a fall on the Beehive.

June 1970 - Air Force Captain Robert McGaunn died after crashing his plane during bad weather into the side of Cedar swamp Mountain.

1969 - David McKinney, age 19, swept to sea by waves at Great Head while attempting to explore a cave.

Sept. 1963 -  Gerard D.F. Poisson, drowned by Thunder Hole.

1949 - Mrs. Millicent Quinn, age 39, swept off rocks by waves Sept. 1949 and drowned along Ocean Drive.

July 1939 - A young boy working with the C.C.C. Clarence D. Thurlow, died after falling from  a cliff on Beech Mountain.

Nov. 1938 - Park Ranger Karl Andrew Jacobson, while on boundary patrol in Acadia National Park, died after being shot by a  poacher.

Aug. 1934 - Miss Emily McDougall, age 25, was washed out to sea by waves and drowned by Thunder Hole.

Aug. 1932 - Joseph Meuse - age 12, died Aug. 1932 whilr playing at Bakers Island Lighthouse.

May 1931 - Bert H. Young, drown on Long Pond following a boating accident.

Sept. 1929 - Dennis Doonan, dynamite man for the Mccabe Company, was killed after a blasting accident while helping construct the Cadillac summit road.

Dec. 1909 - Adren L. Peach, age 9, fell through ice and drowned at Eagle Lake on Christmas Day wearing a pair of ice skates he recieved as a gift that morning.

Aug. 3, 1853 - Lucreatia K. Douglas, age 12, died after falling from a ledge near the Great Cave.  She may be the youngest person to have died on the Precipice.

TWO DEATHS I WILL NEVER FORGET

For me, there are two deaths that I will never forget which occurred in Acadia National Park.  One was a close friend of my son's, his name was Christian Linwood Emigh-Doyle and he was only 23 when he somehow fell from the bridge over Duck Brook.  I had seen him in town often and he had been over to our house now and than to see my son.  Three days before his death i remember answering a knock at the door, it was Christian, he was wearing a pair of sunglasses and smiling, he wanted to know if my son was home and I told him he wasn't, that he might be in town.  He said to tell him he had stopped by and left, it was the last time I saw him alive.
The other death was a total stranger, the young mans name was Michael Domino, and he was only 37 years old.  It is not something that is easy to talk about because it was a death that did not have to happen.  That night me and my oldest son were making out way down the Bear Brook Trail on Champlain Mountain, we had gone up earlier in the day, but got slowed up because the trail was very slippery, and we found ourselves running out of light.   We had to use flashlights as we got closer to the bottom of the trail, I had a thick winter hat on and a hood over my head and thought I heard a sound behind us.  We stopped and stared upward for a few minutes but saw no sign of any lights, and turned and continued back down the trail when Michael Domino came up behind us - I was shocked, not because he was out on the mountain with no light, but because of how he was dressed.  He had on a light jogging suit and a pair of sneakers, that was it...no winter hat, no gloves, no coat, this guy was dressed for a summer jog in the middle of winter on a night when it was cold as hell.  I said to him, you didn't just hike this mountain dressed like that, did you?  He laughed and said he had, that he hiked this mountain as often as he could.  He said he was from a state that had no mountains and that he had become fascinated with the Precipice trail.  We came off the trail and down onto the loop road and I asked him, you didn't hike up the Precipice Trail tonight did you?  He laughed and said, yeah, it was his favorite trail to hike.  I told him how dangerous that trail was in good weather and that people had fallen off it to their death. he just smiled and said he planned on hiking the Precipice tomorrow night.  He said he worked at Jackson Lab and left his car over in the parking lot when he hiked the precipice after work, with that he smiled and wished us a good night and jogged off into the darkness in the direction of the Bear Brook Picnic Area, which makes sense since there is a short cut path that goes right into the Jackson Lab parking lot.  I turned to my son and said, can you believe the way that guy was dressed...we just spoke to a dead guy.
By that, I did not mean nor expect the guy to die the following day, what I meant by that statement was that anyone who did not respect nature and the weather was not going to be around long.  One does not hike the Precipice in the middle of winter dressed like that many times and live to tell about it.
The following night we were into it, a major storm, and I was setting in front of the TV set with a hot cup of coco when I heard over the police scanner that some ones wife had called and reported her husband had not come home and that she was worried about him.  The police located the guys car over at the Jackson Lab parking lot, I heard it on the scanner but never thought they might be looking for the very guy we had run into the night before.  The weather was so bad they didn't locate the guy that night and the following day I heard they had finally located his body on the side of the Precipice below a ledge, his body was said to be twisted in a way that there was no question he was dead.  It than hit me, because i heard the guy was not dressed for this kind of weather, that this very well may be the guy we talked to the night before, and as it turned out it was.

And what makes it even more tragic is the fact that he left behind a wife and a 6 year old daughter.

THE ANNE M. ARCHBOLD ESTATE

ANNE ARCHBOLD COTTAGE
CLEFTSTONE ROAD, BAR HARBOR

Archbold Cottage, located on the West side of Cleftstone road, burned in the fire of 1947.  The land the cottage was built on was once owned by Charles T. How.  The following appeared in the Bar Harbor record, a local newspaper, on March 30, 1904, and in part read;

An Italian Villa

An unique innovation to Bar Harbor's archltecture.

One of the most unique houses ever built in the village, and one that is perhaps, for its size, the most expensive, is that now in process of construction for Miss Ann Archbold.  Miss Archbold is a native of Tarrytown, N.Y., and has passed several seasons at Seal Harbor.  She is an artist of no little talent and has spent many years of travel and study in Europe.  The idea for her cottage was conceived from the beautiful castles in Italy, and in Paris a tiny model, perfect in every detail, was made for the proposed villa.

ANNE ARCHBOLD COTTAGE
Cleftstone Road, Bar Harbor

It was some time before a suitable location could be found, and Bar Harbor and surrounding resorts were thoroughly inspected.  Finally Miss Archbold purchased some four acres on the Cleftstone road and the house is being erected on a slight eminence which gives a beautiful view.  Its appearance from the road is picturesque in the extreme, and when cmpleted, surrounded by lawns and gardens, it will form a quaint and harmonious picture.
From the South side there is an entrance to the reception room, approached by winding steps and from the court is another entrance.
The house is somewhat in the form of a hollow square.  In the basement is a large kitchen extending the entire length of the main body of the house.  In addition to this, there is a pantry, the servants dining room, four servants bed rooms, besides a number of closets.
On the first floor the main body of the house is taken up by the living and dining rooms, whose united length is about 70 feet.  They are rough plastered, and the cypress beams overhead are finished in the rough.  In the west wing are two small bed rooms with bath, and in the east a hall with a fireplace.
The dining room is several steps lower than the living room and the bulters pantry, with dumb waiter shaft opens from it.  One of the accessories of the old Italian villa is a "vanishing table" which disappears directly the viands are eaten, and if practicable, the dining room of Miss Archbold's house will be equipped with one of thses mysterious agents.

ANNE ARCHBOLD COTTAGE
Cleftstone Road, Bar Harbor

On the second floor in the east wing a small chamber is directly above the hall.  Miss Archbolds chamber is a large pleasant room in the east wing.  From it, a spiral iron staircase leads to the tower above, where a beautiful panorama of mountain, forest, and ocean spreads out before the eye.  Opening from this room is a large bath room and tiled tub set deep after the old Roman fashion and reached by several steps.  In the west wing at the extreme end is a small bed room and bath,  Opening from this is the studio, a large airy room.
The center of the second floor is occupied by the loggia, which will be a delightful place when completed.  The floor is to be tiled and the sides of glass, which will open readily so that a cool breeze can sweep across.  Opening from the loggia is a long narrow balcony which later will be hung with trailing vines and blossoms.  At the back a cement stairway leads from the loggia to the terrace below.  The terrace will be one of the most interesting features of the house.  It fills the "hollow" of the square.  A narrow open walk the height of the second story rooms surrounds it and is upheld by twelve arches of stucco  work, ornamented with carved wheels and surrounded with handsome panels of carved wood.  In the center of the terrace a fountain will play and the entire enclosure will be covered with grass.  Beyond the terrace a large plot will be devoted to the garden which will be in keeping with the other appointments.
On the southern side of the east wing is the conservatory, which will be a unique feature of the house.  The sides, of course, will be of glass and the roof will be upheld by carved figures.

Directions;  From Eagle Lake Road - route 233, look for a pull over area where you can park your car directly across from the Cleftstone road.  An old abandoned dirt road runs up into the woods there and you don't have to walk far.  Cross the Eagle Lake Road and walk down the Cleftstone Road a short waysI believe we entered the woods across from the second house or a little past it.  It is not too far in the woods on a hillside.  The GPS for the foundations is N 44 22 947 and W 068 13 630

Directly across the road from the entrance to the estate is a telephone pole with the number 3 on it.  The remains of the estate sets on a  knoll further back in the woods on almost a straight line from the pole.

ANNE ARCHBOLD ESTATE REMAINS
WOODS OFF CLEFTSTONE ROAD
ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

ANNE ARCHBOLD POOL - WOODS OFF CLEFTSTONE ROAD
ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

There is a lot of debris at this site, in fact in one of the photos above you can see part of a bed frame, a closer look in the area and you come across parts of broken statues, and in the photo above you can see what once was a huge round pool that had a fountain at one end with two mermaids, one on either side of the fountain.  Many of the bricks have the name of the company and the state they came from engraved on them.  Stone steps led up to where a patio area was located and from there you can look out over the other rooms whose walls are still standing.  The parking area towards the rear of the building can still be see, though over grown.  I found this to be one of the more amazing sites to explore.

BROKEN PIECE OF ARTWORK

OLD IRON BED UNDER COLLAPSED CEILING

ONCE A FANCY SHAPED TABLE

STEPS WHERE PATIO OVERLOOKED POOL

FANCY BLUE RIDGE BRICKS

While there are some private homes along the cleftstone Road, the large section of woods the Anne Archbold Estate is located in is on Park Property.  The Bayberry site is easier to find but is only a foundation with a fireplace along one wall.  The Archbold Estate remains as it did following the fire, we counted at least four bed frames.

GPS for the foundations is N 44 22 947 and W 068 13 630

BAR HARBOR SUMMER COTTAGES
ANNE ARCHBOLD ESTATE
ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

THE VANISHING TABLE

Bar Harbor Record

June 14, 1905

One of the most unique cottages in town is miss Ann Archbold's Italian Villa which she occupied for the first time last season.  This year the "vanishing Table" has been installed.  The table was made by C.H. Lewis and J.T. Kilnan of Syracuse N.Y., and works with accuracy and precision.  It is a round table supported in the center on a hollow drum through which a dumb waiter brings up the dinner, delivering it on a traveling disk flush with the top of the table.  When the disk descends, half disks at each side come together at the center of the opening through which the disk rises, and closing together, rise to the level of the top of the table, making the entire top one level surface.  The movements are accomplished by means of ropes as in any dumb waiter.

VIDEO OF THE ANNE ARCHBOLD ESTATE REMAINS